Smelting-furnace.



E. BUCK.

SIVIELTING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY e. 1916.

Patented Apr. 24,1917.

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EDWIN BUCK, OF SWANSEA, WALES.

SMELTING-FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. :24, 19T?.

Application led May 6, 1916. Serial N o. 95,866.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, EDWIN BUCK, a subject of the King of England,residing at Swansea, in Wales, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Smelting- Furnaces, of` which the following is aspeciication.

This invention relates to an improvement in smelting furnaces, and moreparticularly to gas heated furnaces of the regenerative type forsmelting zinc ores.

In furnaces of this character, the gas and ore are heated by passingthrough the checkerwork of the regenerator, and are thence conductedthrough iiues into a mixing chamber; from the mixing chamber the burninggases ascend into one-half of the heating chamber in which superposedretorts are fixed. The gases pass up to the roof of the furnace andduring their passage therethrough heat the retorts and then descend tothe other half of the heating chamber, which also contains tiers ofretorts and finally passes ou't through the checkerwork and from thereto the stack.

In furnaces of this character known to me when more than two tiers ofretorts were used, it was very diliicult to properly heat the frontparts of the retorts contained in the upper tiers. The object of myinvention is to provide a furnace in which this difiiculty is overcomeand in which I provide a plurality of auxiliary gas and air passages inthe front wall of the structure, through which fuel is fed to thefurnace above the main feed.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown one form of furnace embodyingmy invention, in which:

Figure l is a vertical section on the line ll of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is anelevation partially in section, and Fig. 3 is a plan view partially insection on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, the reference characters A-A designate the air chambersin the regenerators and A-A the gas regenerators. E, F and G are retortsin the combustion chambers above the air and gas chambers, there being aplurality of sets of said retorts on each side of the central divisionwall, or there being a plurality of sets of retorts above each half ofthe checkerwork, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1.

Each of the air chambers A is connected with the lower portion of theycombustion chamber by means of a port B, while each of the gas chambersA is connected with the bottom of its respective combustion chamber by aport B. Located in each of the front walls of the structure and on eachside of the different sets of retorts, is an auxiliary air port C whichcommunicates with its respective air chamber A. C are similar portsadjacent to the ports C which are in communication with their respectivegas chambers A. These various ports C and C are provided with laterallyextending openings D which communicate with the combustion chambersadjacent to the outer ends of the retorts, so that air and gas aresupplied to said combustion chambers for heating the front ends of therretorts at a point above the entrance of the main supply of gas andair. L. L. are bricks which inclose the upper ends of the ports C Cwhich are supported by the roof H, and similar bricks are used forclosingl the ends of the ports C at the sides of the furnace. The setsof retorts on each side of the structure are arranged with their mouthsnear the front outer walls of the furnace above the pockets N for thereception of the residue from the retorts. O are removable screenswhich, if desired, can be placed in front of the openings of the retortsto protect the condensers or retorts from drafts.

The advantages of my invention result from the provision of a furnace ofthis character having supply ports for the gas and air in the lower endthereof, together with means for supplying gas and air at the front ofthe furnace above the main supply.

I claim:

l. A smelting furnace having a combustion chamber, a plurality ofretorts at different levels in said combustion chamber, there being aport extending through the bottom of the combustion chamber, means forsupplying heated air to said port, there being a second port extendingthrough the bottom of the combustion chamber adjacent to the other port,means for supplying heated gas to said port, said combustion chamberhaving a front wall, a plurality of auxiliary air ports in said wall,means for supplying heated air to said ports, openings extending throughthe front wall at different levels communicating with said auxiliary airports and the combustion chamber, there being an auxiliary gas portadjacent to each air port within the front wall, means and a gas chamberon each side of the structure having checkervvork therein, the air andgas passing through said chambers to be heated When moving in onedirection and the products of combustion passing out through the othergas and air chamber to heat up the checkerwork, a gas inlet port on eachside of the structure communicating with its gas chamber and the lovverend of the combustion chamber, said ports extending through the bottomof the combustion chamber, an air port on each side of the structureextending through the bottom of the combustion ing With its combustionchamber and its air chamber belovs7 the combustion chamber, said gas andair ports on each side 'of the structure being adjacent to each other, aplurality Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, byaddressing the Washington, D. G.

chamber each communicatof auxiliary gas ports on each side of thestructure extending through the side Walls adjacent to the front ends ofthe retorts, said auxiliary gas ports communicating With theirrespective gas chambers below the coinbustion chambers, laterallyextending openings through said vvalls at different levels communicatingWith the auxiliary gas `ports and the combustion chambers, there beingan auxiliary air port adjacent to each auxiliary gas port communicatingwith its air chamber below the combustion chamber, each of saidauxiliary air ports having a plurality of laterally extending openingsadjacent to the laterally extending openings communicating With the gasports or feeding air to the combustion chamber at different levels tocommingle with the gas fed through the auxiliary gas ports,substantially as described.

In testimony vvhere'oiY I have signed my name to this specification inthe presence of tvvo subscribing Witnesses.

EDWIN BUCK.

Witnesses NORA STEPHENS, I-IAYDN WrLoox.

Commissioner of Patents,

